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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

The Veg "Muff"

Due to popular demand, here is one of my favourite foods to eat, explained. The Muffaletta (familiarily known as The Muff) is a classic New Orleans sandwich. It is generally made with provolone & mozzarella cheese, two kinds of cold cuts, and most importantly, a good & tangy olive salad. It is made on a special bread, one which kind of resembles a ciabatta.

My favourite vegetarian version, though perhaps heretical to purists, is made with thinly sliced grilled eggplant replacing the cold cuts. There are many versions; some use "fake meat" cold cuts to replace the original, some use portobellos, some use eggplant, some even use artichoke burgers. The vital ingredient is the olive salad. I found a recipe for a classic New Orleans style mix which makes the sandwich feel nicely authentic.

You hollow out the bottom of the loaf slightly, to make more room for the olive salad, and pile it in. Stack slices of eggplant and provolone on top, brush some of the salad marinade on the remaining slice of loaf and press it down. Heat it up nicely so that the cheese is all melty. Slice into portions. Mmmm. You can press it and have it cold for a picnic or whatnot, but I do love the melty cheese.

You're making me hungry. We have a restaurant here that makes a vegan muffaletta that I've had once. I don't even remember what all was on it but it was delicious and so huge I could barely eat half of it.